The Logie Awards (officially the TV Week Logie Awards) is an annual institution celebrating Australian television, which have been since 1960. Coined by Graham Kennedy after he won the first Star of the Year award in 1959,[1] the name Logie awards honours John Logie Baird, who invented television as a practical medium. Awards are given in many categories, but the most widely publicized award is the Gold Logie, which is awarded to the most popular personality on Australian television. The Logies are considered the Australian counterpart to the Emmy Awards

The first awards, known as the TV Week Awards, were instigated by TV Week magazine after the first voting coupons were released in the magazine in late 1958, two years after the introduction of television in Australia. The first awards saw no formal ceremony; they were presented on 15 January 1959 on an episode of In Melbourne Tonight. Only Melbourne television personalities were nominated and awards were given in eight categories, including two for American programs.[3]

The following year, Kennedy coined the name 'Logie Awards'. In the same year, the first Gold Logie, considered by some to be equivalent to the 'Star of the Year Award' presented in 1959, was presented.

The Logie statuette was designed by Alec De Lacy, chief designer for Melbourne-based trophy makers KG Luke Ltd.

In 1960, the ceremony is coined "Logies" to honour inventor John Logie Baird, by Graham Kennedy, after he won what was previously known as the "Star of the Year awards"
In 1961 the awards ceremony was televised for the first time, with the ABC screening the first half hour of the awards in Sydney
In 1962 Australian entertainer Lorrae Desmond, was the first female star to win a Gold Logie
In 1968, there was no award for the Most Popular Female in Television. According to Bert Newton, who was hosting that year, "it appears no one was deemed worthy enough to receive it". He pleaded with the producers to never be put in that position again.[4]
In 1973 the media was invited for the first time to attend the Logies
In 1974, Number 96 star Pat McDonald became the first "soap star" actress (not television personality) to win the Gold Logie
In 1976, the first and only fictional character to win a Logie was Norman Gunston, with the award being presented to portrayor Garry McDonald, who appeared in character
In 1984 the Hall of Fame Logie was introduced by TV Week, awarded to recognise outstanding and continued contribution to television by an individual or program with the first induction being producer and television pioneer Hector Crawford
In 1988 Actress and future international pop star Kylie Minogue became the youngest person to win a Gold Logie (aged 19) for her role in Neighbours
In 2010, Ray Meagher became the oldest person to win the award (age 66), for his portrayal of Alf Stewart in Home and AwayJamie Dunn is the only undefeated man in Logies history, having won 7 consecutive Logies in 7 consecutive nominations for Agro's Cartoon Connection
In 2006, a new Logies category was introduced, named Graham Kennedy Award for Most Outstanding Newcomer, to honour Kennedy's career and legacy in 50th years of television in Australia
In 2016, the Logies accepts nominations from locally produced digital content.

Many of the Logie categories are voted by the readers of TV Week magazine using coupons in the magazine and online forms. SMS (short message service) was introduced in 2006. Thus, the majority of Logie Awards are fan awards. The readership of TV Week is a relatively small proportion of the Australian population, and skews heavily to teenage girls.[8] The 'Most Outstanding' categories are voted on by a jury comprising members of the Australian TV industry and are thus industry awards.

In 2008, internet votes could be cast for the first time without having to buy a copy of the TV Week magazine.[9]

To be eligible to receive a Logie, a programme must be Australian produced, set in Australia and have a predominantly Australian cast. Although in other years there has been a Logie for Most Popular Foreign Programme, this award was not part of the 2007 or 2008 awards.

People eligible for a Logie must have appeared on an Australian-produced show that was broadcast on Australian television in the previous year. The winners do not have to be Australian - New Zealander John Clarke and American Michael Cole have won Logies.

There are long-held suspicions that network publicists engage in mass voting to rig the results. However, no hard evidence has emerged for this, other than the experiment by the satirical newspaper The Chaser, who attempted to have low-profile SBS newsreader Anton Enus nominated for the Gold Logie. They did so by getting their small readership to buy copies of TV Week and vote for Enus for the award. While the attempt failed (they came "reasonably close", to earning a nomination for Enus, according to a "TV Week Insider"), their failure gives some cause for the widespread derision in the industry (particularly the 'quality' end) towards the popular-vote awards.[10]

There is nothing stopping Channel 31 personalities and shows being nominated for Logies, however since their audiences are far smaller than those of the commercial channels and public broadcasters, they are at a tremendous disadvantage. They do, however, have their own community television awards, known as the Antennas. Despite this, in 2009 The Logies were dogged by minor controversy after organisers refused to allow an acclaimed community television show, The Bazura Project, to be nominated in the category of Outstanding Comedy Show, stating; As TV Week does not cover community television within the magazine, we are unable to consider individual programs on this platform. The ABC's Media Watch program first reported the story on Monday 9 March 2009,[11] with many media outlets covering the growing support for the community television program since.

The Logies ceremony is televised, and has generally become more elaborate in recent years. The awards have for the past 11 years been held in a ballroom in Melbourne'sCrown Casino (rather than a theatre, which is common for the Emmy Awards and Academy Awards). Dinner is served just before the ceremony and drinks are served during the ceremony.

Bert Newton has been strongly associated with the history of the Logies. As well as winning the Gold Logie four times, he hosted the awards a total of 19 times. He has also performed in well-received guest appearances. One notable appearance was with Muhammad Ali as co-presenter in 1979. Newton made a comment "I like the boy!" (in reference to a series of TV advertisements Bert had recently done), that was seen as racist by Ali, although Newton claimed this was not his intention. Ali was upset at the comment and a full apology was issued by Newton and the Awards producers.

In 1973, American actor Michael Cole generated controversy after accepting an award while apparently drunk, uttering the word "shit" in a short, incoherent acceptance speech. This was the first time the word had been said on Australian television.[12] According to Bert Newton, Channel Nine received thousands of complaints about the use of the word, however, when it was edited for the repeat transmission "they got double the calls complaining it had been dropped."[4]

However, the most difficult guest to interact with, according to Newton was Vic Morrow in 1967. He would just stand there saying nothing, silently handing out the Logies. According to Bert, "every so often, I'd say 'how are you going, Vic?' and he would just nod his head."[4]

Public voting for the awards lasts for four weeks, usually beginning in early February, while the ceremony itself is in late April or early May. However, the voting for the 2011 Logie Awards began in December 2010 and ran for 12 weeks.

In 2011 Katy Perry performed an opening number and then presented the Best Children's Show award with comedy personalities Hamish and Andy. The 2011 ceremony also featured Shaun Micallef, Roy & HG, The Chaser and was hosted by Shane Bourne.

As of 2015, Home and Away is the most successful program in Logies history, having won 45 awards since it premiered in 1988. Neighbours is the second most successful having won 30 Logies since it began in 1985. A Country Practice follows as the third most successful programme, having won 29 awards throughout its twelve-year run. Blue Heelers is fourth with 25 Logies.